Cycling in Waterloo Region

[clasher]

The answer is infrastructure, not more rules. If people are riding on the sidewalk on Weber, put a bike lane there. That's relatively straightforward compared to "more training in schools" and waiting a generation for people to hopefully ride safer. And a lot more likely to actually reduce injuries than mandating helmets.

Unfortunately, I have to disagree. I see (from behind the wheel, and behind my handlebars) cyclists all the time riding on the sidewalk when there's a bike lane right there. Especially when I'm on my bike, that infuriates me because it gives us a bad name.

I won't fault anyone for riding on the sidewalk; Tiberiu David was killed riding in the bike lane on University Avenue. Bike lanes aren't really anything more than illusions of safety. Often times around here they're full of broken glass and other detritus. I don't really condone riding on the sidewalks and it's not something I do myself but I think a lot of people have well-justified fears about riding in bike lanes along the busy roads in this region. There's also the demographics of sidewalk cyclists to consider, many people have no other choice but to ride their bikes and they aren't the kind of people that have time to take a cycling safety class or ever had the opportunity to get online and use strava or something to figure out the best bike routes.